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May 20, 2023 · What is the essence of photography? How does it differ from other mediums? Philosopher Roland Barthes argued that photography is connected with death, inauthenticity, and an ability to ‘wound’ spectators.
- Alfred Stieglitz and Equivalence
- Andre Kertesz
- Diane Arbus
- Ansel Adams
- Dorothea Lange
- Sam Abell
- Sebastião Salgado
- James Nachtwey
- Conclusion
Stieglitz was one of the first philosophical photographers that prescribed to the idea of Kandinsky’s ‘Equivalence,’ which is the belief that colors, shapes, and geometric lines reflect ones’ inner emotions. Stieglitz’s idea of equivalence was in terms of his abstract photographs that corresponded, or symbolically represented, what he felt was his ...
Kertesz was a major influence on Henri Cartier-Bresson, and his philosophy was about being lost in the moment — being caught up in the right here and now. He believed in abandoning the technical aspects and techniques of photography when photographing so he could focus on ‘feeling’ the experience. “The moment always dictates in my work. What I feel...
Diane Arbus was only interested in photographing the ‘untouchables,’ and captured her portraits with humanity in a powerful and provocative way. “I hate the idea of composition. I don’t know what good composition is. I mean I guess I must know something about it from doing it a lot and feeling my way into and into what I like. Sometimes for me comp...
His love and preoccupation was photographing the American West, and capturing the natural beauty of the National Parks, and to help save public land from being developed. Ansel photographed what he loved, and his philosophy was that his photographs were his advocacy for keeping the West beautiful, and preserving the American landscape for future ge...
People have described her work as democratizing the view of people that were unseen, or down trodden, especially during the Great Depression, by giving a voice to people who seemed to have been forgotten. Her image of ‘Migrant Mother’ showed the worry and anxieties of people with nowhere to go, and with now way of feeding their children or themselv...
Sam Abell considers himself a writer who photographs. His works are poetic essays that establish a story/narrative. Abell sees the medium of photography as freedom that allows one to sit, reflect, compose, and wait for the perfect moment to present itself in front of the lens. He describes photographing as a spiritual experience. “But there is more...
Sebastião Salgado was an economist before he became the famous photographer he is today, and uses economics as a way to describe what photography means to him: “We can take a picture that communicates, one where we can see the problems and the people from around the world. We show the people of Bangladesh to others so they can understand them. I ha...
“Why photograph war? Is it possible to put an end to human behavior which has existed throughout history by means of photography? The proportions of that notion seem ridiculously out of balance yet that very idea has motivated me.” — James Nachtwey He entrenches deeply with his subjects, and seems fearless as he clicks away. His philosophy, moreove...
Photographs are a way of telling a story or narrative, or showing something in a different way, specifically from the photographer’s point of view. The human experience, whether comic or tragic, can be captured differently by the artist/photographer that cultivates an emotional or spiritual connection to their work. Alan Watts, a philosopher and sc...
‘Ontology’ is that branch of philosophy concerned with the study of being, and of the different kinds of being that entities might have, so to discuss the ontological status of photography is to consider what particular kind of thing a photograph is.
THE QUESTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC MEANING IN ROLAND BARTHES’ CAMERALUCIDA Lior Levy This essay explores Ronald Barthes’ thoughts on photography by constructing a narrative of development in his thought that reaches its peak in his last book, Camera Lucida. I claim that Barthes’engagement with photography revolves around the desire to de-
Three widespread and contentious intuitions play a role in most discussions of photography: The photographic process is, in some sense, automatic. The resultant images are, in some sense, realistic. The realism of photographs, in some sense, depends on the automatism of the photographic process.
Whereas the most influential mod-ernist art theory and criticism concerned painting (and, secondarily, sculpture), photography (and, to a lesser extent, the moving image) now makes a credible claim to being the privileged object of art theory and criticism.
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Nov 20, 2007 · This anthology offers a fresh approach to the philosophical aspects of photography. The essays, written by contemporary philosophers in a thorough and engaging manner, explore the far-reaching ethical dimensions of photography as it is used today.
